I Might CRASH OUT Before Graduation... crying after class, commercial shoots, a busy college week

Added: 2026-04-29

[00:00:00]I might crash out before graduation.

[00:00:02]Depressive state. I don't want to cry in like middle of campus cuz I'm like around a bunch of people. My life is booked and busy. From speaking on panels to shooting a commercial with a production team. Sometimes my professional life and personal life. My car it broke down. Gets in the way of college. And in this video, you'll see how stressful it can get. Hi guys, welcome to the vlog. A little bit of a glamorous start. I'm actually speaking on a panel today at SCA for an AAPI entertainment and casting summit. My friend Alex is part of the team that's throwing this and they wanted me to speak about social media content creation. Clearly they didn't want me to speak about being Asian because I am not. I am black. But hopefully I have some insight to give in that other domain. Also like colored communities unite. Period. Period. This is the look.

[00:00:44]Got a suede bubble skirt dress on and I guess we're going to speed. I'm excited.

[00:00:49]This event took place at SCA which was nice. I didn't have to go too far and the team really pulled together so many fun things for the event. There were sponsors. There was food. a photo op. I even got a special lanyard that said panelist on it. Okay, very professional.

[00:01:04]I think 200 people registered for this event. There was a point where there weren't even enough seats to accommodate everybody. Some people were standing against the wall, which made me a little bit nervous. Not to mention, I would be speaking alongside so many industry veterans. The panel before mine had Donna Smith, the former president of Universal Pictures, Joey Montario, the president of worldwide marketing at Neon, CEOs from Warner Brothers China, professors and students who have won Academy Awards, and then there's me who is a little bit intimidated and also feels like a fish out of water. But when it was my time to speak, I felt so welcomed by the entire community. Um, yeah, time is hard to find for sure, especially cuz I'm also a student, so I totally get it. But I think we make time for the things that we want. When you really care about something or when you really want something, like you will make time for it. Like you'll make sacrifices in areas to work on whatever your passion or your dream is. And I think remembering the long-term goal is what always sustains me. It's a privilege to have choice and to have options. If you can choose to, oh, like I have acting and then I have this and I have that, like that's a blessing in itself. So I like to embrace that chaoticness.

[00:02:08]>> So I felt at home and I hope the attendees found my advice and experience valuable. I'm glad I had a good time because the next day is when things start to spiral out of control. Morning.

[00:02:18]It's 700 a.m. I woke up 10 minutes ago.

[00:02:21]I have to take my car to service because it broke down. Maybe that's an over exaggeration. It is having trouble starting. This is probably the worst week for this to happen. Let me see if it even starts right now.

[00:02:37]Thank you. See how it kind of stutters?

[00:02:40]For the past few days, my car has been acting very strange.

[00:02:44]It struggled to start and gives me random warning signals that are always changing.

[00:02:51]That's been the issue. So, I made an early appointment cuz this needs to be fixed because I have such a busy week.

[00:02:56]No time to get ready. I'm just driving to the service center cuz it's Monday morning, bright and sharp. I need this fixed now. All right. I'm a little nervous to drive on the freeway with my car issues, y'all. It's too early for this. But I'm also happy. Whenever I start vlogging, I get happy. It's crazy also how I'll go from bombshell to busted in like less than 30 seconds on this channel. Just drive, baby. It's okay. We're going to get you fixed.

[00:03:20]Well, good morning vlog. Welcome to another busy week in Michaela Lizac's life. If you're new here, subscribe. We have a lot of fun adventures on this channel. Today we have class. Oh my gosh. Today John Wells is coming to our freaking school. If you don't know John Wells, Google that muff legend.

[00:03:38]Literally, my whole entire program is named after this man. But he is coming when I have a class. So, I'm going to have to try and like sneak out of class later today. This is my most busy class day. And then I have a film crew coming tomorrow. It's going to be okay. Let's just get to the service center safely. I arrived at the service center and was met with a long line of cars. Currently waiting in line, but I did make an appointment yesterday. Regardless, they were able to take my car. So, I guess Uber will be my best friend until it's done. Honda said that their shuttle would take an hour. I was not going to wait. I needed to go. So, I caught a ride to the village. Another expense on top of my car maintenance. Okay, let's go get food. And I also need to work on this pitch. I have a pitch night tonight and I haven't even finished writing the other half of my pitch. So, let's fuel up. Let's get caffeinated and let's go.

[00:04:24]This is like not like the last vlog where I was like, "Okay, I can procrastinate." Like, I wish everybody hit me up during spring break. Like that would have been great. A rough start to the week I was hoping coffee could fix, but little did I know it would get a lot more stressful later on in this video.

[00:04:37]The assignment deadline doesn't change no matter what's going on in your life, and I was feeling the pressure. I hurried over to the film school to try and get a good block of writing done. I needed to start writing this pitch because I didn't have time over the weekend, and I had to present tonight.

[00:04:51]Like, I'm sorry, sometimes I'm working outside of school to pay to go to school, but time wasn't on my side today. As I was just settling into the flow of writing, my phone rang. It was Honda maintenance saying my car was ready. So, I had to get up and go grab my car because I have backto-back classes and events today. There's no other opportunity for me to get down there. I catch this thing. Don't Don't keep driving. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. We got in the Uber, made our way back down to Honda, and I arrived and had to wait like an extra hour because apparently my car wasn't ready yet, even though they called me saying it was ready. Time just kept slipping and slipping and my work was not getting done. So, I just got out of the Uber.

[00:05:26]I'm waiting for my car at the service center. Essentially, I have class in 1 hour and I'm like, "Okay, I was only on campus for 2 hours and I made progress on my pitch, but I'm not done." So, I emailed my professor saying that I am not able to attend class because my car broke down. Finally, it was time for me to check out. It was an issue with my battery. I had to get that replaced, plus some other maintenance because my car is approaching 40,000 mi. Y'all, it was $700 just for all the services. Woo!

[00:05:52]A big bill. But at least I have my car and I can rest assured that I'll be driving safe from now on. Okay. Hello.

[00:05:57]Trying to breathe. I got my car. I was able to come back to my apartment and just like decompress for a millisecond.

[00:06:05]I have not stopped since this morning and I'm just kind of like trying to stay center. Haven't finished my pitch and I'm like pitching tonight. So, just trying to breathe. Just trying to stay calm and remind myself that this is a workshop class. It's going to be fine.

[00:06:21]It does not have to be fully polished or anything like that. Just come with what you have. Get notes and then you'll be able to like work on it on your own time. I'm going to come as I am. I'm going to pitch my show. 10 minutes. I can read off the page and just get notes and just be there. It does not have to be perfect and it's going to be fine.

[00:06:38]Just come with what you have. I have a few more hours of free time to work on this pitch, but I just needed to like take a little break. Happy that I have the ability to drive. I'm happy that my feet are on the ground, that I'm able to make decisions, that I'm able to breathe, hear, see, smell, and just all of that. I just need to like take a moment of gratitude. Maybe I'll like take a minute to meditate. It's a blessing to be busy, but also I do not want to burn out. I don't want to crash out. Opening headsp space.

[00:07:04]>> Begin by taking a big deep breath through the mouth. Just gently closing the eyes. Just allowing the breath.

[00:07:11]Imagine a steady stream of warm sunshine flowing down through the head into the body.

[00:07:17]>> Feeling a lot better. I'm going take it slow. I have time. I'm going to stay here for like one more hour. Just work.

[00:07:24]There's no rush. It's just the mental rush. But I'm the only one that's making that exist.

[00:07:31]Guys, remember how I said, "Okay, take life slow. I'm not going to rush or anything." I'm rushing to this John Wells thing because it starts in like 5 minutes and I need to go pick up my Chipotle. I feel like it's going to fill up and I'm not going to be able to make it. So, trying to get there as fast as I can. Your girl cannot catch a break today. I ran all the way to the film school to catch John Wells and thankfully I made it and thankfully Anthony was there to hold my seat. He was working the event.

[00:07:57]>> He saved me a seat. Thank you so much.

[00:07:59]It's always Anthony. It always comes back to Anthony. Thank you so much.

[00:08:03]>> Also, update. I did not finish my pitch, but I have like 75% of it done. So, I'm just going to go to class >> and be like, "Hey guys, this is what I have." And I'm going to do office hours with the rest.

[00:08:15]>> Then it was time for John Wells. When he walked in the room, everything went silent. I was ready to absorb every ounce of knowledge that he had to share with us.

[00:08:23]>> Over the following four decades, you became one of the most prolific writers, directors, and producers for television, film, and the stage.

[00:08:34]This event was exclusive to students in the writing program. And I actually didn't know John Wells was a USC film school alumni. He studied under the Peter Stark producing program. He talks about what it was like for him as a young writer when he graduated starting his career and obviously talked about The Pit, which is his show that's on the air right now.

[00:08:51]>> But you're a writer, right? That's what you want to do. You've come here, you've paid for it, you're spending all this time, you're going to write. You're just going to try and get whatever gig you can that allows you to tell any kind of story you can tell. Weirdly, this seminar brought me so much peace that it felt meditative. I just really, really valued this seminar and took so much away from it. It was incredible. After I went to class, then went to bed because I had to get up bright and early because I'm shooting a commercial with Microsoft Windows. Yes, all of this was happening one day after the other. My weeks are insane. Good morning. Feeling a lot better today. Oh my gosh, it's 7:50. The crew is coming in an hour, so I'm going to get ready and we need to talk. John Wells was amazing. That conversation was so healing. Remember when I was meditating? Yeah, that helped. But honestly, sitting and listening to him talk about career and writing for an hour and 45 minutes was so meditative and healing in itself. And I don't know how to explain it, but I hadn't eaten.

[00:09:48]Like when I was rushing there, I was like, "Okay, I'm going to go grab Chipotle just for pickup." I grabbed it and then I was almost late for the thing and I was deciding between like, do I skip it and just eat this or do I go to the thing? But then immediately when that ended, I had to go to class. And I did my pitch. It went good. I got notes after like two hours of being there. And I was like, I need to get out of here.

[00:10:09]Like I I need to go eat. I need to go like take care of myself before the shoot tomorrow. I like just needed to like cry. I was crying because well, one, like the day was over, you know, like I finished everything I needed to do, but also the day was so overwhelming. And so I was just stressed about that. running back and forth.

[00:10:28]Having a good cry honestly helped so much. I just needed to cry. I just needed to eat, take care of myself. I'm feeling a lot better today.

[00:10:38]Another thing I was worried about was not getting enough sleep and looking crazy for this dang shoot. I need to look actually healthy, not stressed and and strained. I'm going to use my Elmus Pro Collagen Cleansing Balm. I feel like it makes my skin look a little bit tighter after using it. Then I'm taking my clean skin club towel and just patting dry.

[00:11:02]I'm going to rub the ice cube on my face. Feel like it helps with inflammation. Cold. It wakes you up.

[00:11:11]Hydrrenity spray.

[00:11:14]Limeid CBD mist.

[00:11:17]The road eye patches. I think I stuck my previous ones on a different package.

[00:11:21]This is new, right? I've been trying these. Um, I don't really know if I see a difference or not when I use these, but I use them. Everybody uses them. I was peer pressured by the internet.

[00:11:34]Kind of get dressed and look a little less crazy before everybody comes, but I'll see you soon. There's a makeup artist coming. Hallelujah. Thank you.

[00:11:44]Okay, so I was thinking about wearing this. You guys have seen it before. I feel like it's very brand safe, very studious, and also I love the colors on me. So yeah, it's this vest from Free People and then Banana Republic button-up. I also do have, it's not buttoned, but I have this Christopher John Rogers button-up that's super cool.

[00:12:03]I just don't know if it's going to be too busy for what they're doing, but I'll leave it out to kind of show them and get their opinion, but we'll see.

[00:12:12]Let's get into the behind the scenes of shooting a commercial with Windows. I got the project offer in my inbox like last week and they were like, "We're going to shoot the next week." It was a very quick process, but I love Microsoft. They've been a really great partner, not only now, but in the past.

[00:12:27]We've worked together on so many projects, so it felt really natural and organic, like a obvious yes. The concept was to share my creative journey on Windows. All the tools that I love and use in my workflow like Excel or Paint or OneNote. I had a lot to say, very interview style, chitchat, casual, but I was not expecting such a big production.

[00:12:46]Microsoft generously was like, "Baby, if you need hair and makeup, we'll provide it." So, I was sat in the chair getting my makeup done. They brought an entire crew with so much equipment. There were seastands, lights, monitors, and they made it work within my little apartment.

[00:13:01]There were probably 15 people just on the crew. All fit in there. All made it work. They had so much professionalism, kindness, the director was amazing, the producers, just everyone. I had a really great experience working with Microsoft.

[00:13:14]And I'm actually gonna insert the final commercial that we did together. Take a look.

[00:13:19]Did I do it right? Hi, my name is Michaela. I'm an actress, screenwriter, content creator, student. Basically, I'm an entrepreneurial creative who does the most. And I do it all by myself. No matter where life takes me, I'll never stop creating. I didn't have a $100,000 camera. I had a Surface Pro. And it wasn't even mine. It was my mom's. She didn't care. So, I grabbed my siblings.

[00:13:42]You stand there. you stand there. I'm just going to film something and I would like tell them what to say on the spot and I just did it. And from there, I started posting online. And then people started seeing my stuff. I would get ideas and I would just go for it. I'd run with it. I would film things, things for me to just kind of express my voice in a weird way. Just ideas. I was starting to listen to my audience who was curious about my acting career. So then I started talking about my professional life. and then also filming parts of my regular life in high school.

[00:14:14]And it really became like career and lifestyle and everything in between.

[00:14:19]Going to auditions, getting rejected or coming up with script ideas, writing them down, just documenting the entire creative journey of like being entrepreneurial and going after what you want without permission. With being a creator, you can pick up a camera and do it yourself. And I think it all starts with honestly just having the tools available so you can just run whenever inspiration strikes. Every season I sort of have different creative impulses or things that I really want to focus on.

[00:14:48]But right now in film school I'm about to be graduating. So I'm doing a lot of writing, writing and writing and revising and polishing and getting notes. A day ago I was speaking on a panel. I also like am writing a pitch for my thesis. I'm always doing so much.

[00:15:07]Building your own opportunities starts with the right tools. For me, Microsoft Windows has been that essential digital toolbox, no matter what project I'm working on. Outlook, OneNote, Word, Excel. As a creative, you need all of your tools in one place. And for me, that's Windows. Right now, I'm most focused on graduating, like this next chapter of my life. I see a future with so many different possibilities. And it's all about just planting seeds and seeing which ones grow. Like as a creative person, I'm honestly open to so many things. Like I want to continue my content creation. I want to keep writing scripts. I maybe want to shoot my own shows. Doing it all like with my digital audience, bringing them on set with me and just going about the industry in a really entrepreneurial way, I think is exciting to me. I want to think outside the box. I'm just ready to try new things and fail and get up and keep going. And you know what? It all starts with Windows. Did we get it?

[00:16:08]>> And that's a wrap.

[00:16:11]How cool was that commercial? Thank you again to Windows for being such a great partner. I had an amazing time, but unfortunately the next day would not be so fun for me. I'm out in the courtyard and I'm honestly not having a good day today. The shoot yesterday was great, but I have really been struggling mentally, honestly. I don't know. Maybe it's cuz I started my period on the shoot day. Like, the shoot went well.

[00:16:33]It's not that, but I lost a really valuable item and I don't know where it went. I've searched my apartment a million times. I take really good care of it and I'm just so beside myself that I have like absolutely no clue what could have happened because like I have procedures of like taking care of this one thing. Um, I don't know if it's just cuz I've had a really frantic week that I just can't remember where I might have misplaced it. I realized I lost it the morning of the shoot and then after the shoot I looked, slept, woke up in the middle of the night just thinking about it, trying to find it. Went back to bed, kept looking and I'm like, "Whatever, I just have to go to class." I've just been not great. And the thing is, I've had a really blessed week of like amazing things going on, but mentally I have not been okay. my boyfriend is going to come see me today and I think it'll be nice to just be around somebody that I love to sort of pull me out of my head. Just honestly getting outside has helped so much more than I thought it would. Sometimes you can be so in your head and you just sulk and like marinate and just whatever's going on in your mind, but like and it's hard to get yourself to like get up, get out of bed.

[00:17:40]Like I wanted to stay on the couch all day. I wanted to stay in bed all day. I slept until probably 11:00. If you're in a similar headsp space where you're kind of struggling right now, I urge you like no matter how hard it might feel, just walk outside or just like grab a cup of coffee or just enjoy the nature and be in that cuz it'll make you feel a little bit better. You might not feel 100% but maybe it gets you 1% closer to feeling a little more okay. Things can look really good in someone's life, but maybe they're actually struggling on the inside. I don't want to cry in like middle of campus cuz I'm like around a bunch of people, but um just trying to like feel okay. We're watching a movie today, Heat, which I'm really excited to see cuz my dad has been wanting me to see this movie. So, we're going to go do the screening, get back on track. Sort of like the busyiness of the beginning of the week is now over and I can kind of chill out, but I feel like I have not caught a break and I'm super upset about losing this item like deeply. So, I don't want to cry about it, but okay.

[00:18:37]>> Yeah, I was not doing good. But you still got to show up for life and for school, your job. And honestly, it helps that I have a fun major where I get to watch movies. Heat was a really good film. I enjoyed it. It was long, but I was entertained. Afterwards, I was really happy to have the emotional support of my boyfriend because I was really dwelling over losing something that was super sentimental and valuable to me. We went out and got dinner together at Great White over in Larchmont. My boyfriend is always able to put a smile on my face no matter what's going on. It was a great night.

[00:19:13]Just relieves a little bit of stress from the beginning of the week. We even grabbed coffee together in the morning over in the arts district.

[00:19:28]Everybody who says it's really easy to get fat with your significant other is right because him and I are always going to find a way to get a good meal in.

[00:19:36]Dang.

[00:19:40]Every time you eat it looks very sexual.

[00:19:45]>> Do not do that. Sour.

[00:19:48]>> Do they not do like a good espresso bowl?

[00:19:55]>> You guys like how we're matching today?

[00:19:58]>> We had our coffee and pastry, explored a little bit of the arts district, walked around, then went over to Doulce in the village and got a burrito. He's just as addicted as I am. Hello guys. Um, it's the next day. Really happy that I got to hang out with my boyfriend. Honestly, he did make me feel a little bit better, but he could tell that I'm not in the best headsp space, but there were moments where it was really fun. We went out to eat, got coffee together this morning. Just enjoying the day. Still been in a little bit of a depressive state because of losing this item.

[00:20:32]Trying to get past that. I have work that needs to be done regardless. I have to answer some interview questions for a journal outlet. I have to turn in an assignment. Oh, and then just like I have to turn in edits for something. I just need moments of rest bit throughout my week. So, I'm just going to do things that I know will be good for me that will make me kind of calm down and get my mind off of certain things that I'm focused on and hyperfixating about. Just trying to move forward with light. I'm trying to speak positively to myself. I have to remember I cannot say certain things that will make me have a certain perspective on life. I have to have a positive outlook. There are so many other people who are going through way worse things. I have to remember that sometimes comparison is a good thing. I know people say don't compare yourself to others but sometimes that will keep you in check in realizing your blessings. While this week had so many blessings. I got to speak on a panel, shoot a commercial, be in the presence of John Wells, and honestly just live an amazing life. I also felt the pressure of life and its unexpected nature. From being overwhelmed with way too much in my workload, having my car break down, losing a personal item that had so much sentimental value, having to skip a class, and not being fully prepared for my pitch. This week brought out the best in me, but also tested me emotionally in a lot of ways. I needed to slow down, period, and make space for wellness, self-care, because if I can't show up, none of it gets done. And if I'm not showing up for myself and taking care of my well-being, none of it matters. So, I reconnected with my body at the gym, ate a nourishing meal. I made sure to get a good night's sleep. I scheduled a spa day for myself and my boyfriend just to relax. And I was a little hesitant to book that spa appointment because we all know the spa can be expensive. And I already had to pay for my car this week, but I felt like this was necessary to keep me going, take a moment of relaxation so I can show up the next week and be ready for whatever life has to throw at me. Thank you for watching till the end. If you stayed this long, subscribe to the channel. Like this video if you liked it and I'll see you in the next one. Bye guys.